EDMONTON - It was a bit of a challenge for me to write this review of Canteen Restaurant because all I could think about was smoked maple syrup, which has been obsessing me since I dined at the new 124th Street hot spot last weekend.

But maybe that’s the point of this review, anyway: That there are things on the Canteen menu that have the potential to haunt your dreams — or at the very least disrupt your work.

Canteen opened on 124th about a month ago as the hipper, more casual little sister to Edmonton’s much beloved Red Ox Inn.

Located in the heart of the burgeoning High Street restaurant scene, Canteen seats about 50, and has a long bar, a modern and vaguely industrial finishing, and a cool, inviting atmosphere. The menu is well-curated, with less than 20 plates between the mains, appetizers and a finger-food category called “small bites.” I visited Canteen with a party of five, which allowed us to sample a good portion of the menu.

In addition to the wine and beer list, Canteen has an array of classic cocktails that impressed me from the start. The champagne cocktail (made with prosecco), Negroni and Pim’s Cup were all perfectly mixed and delicious, and my Artruro was a crisp and refreshing aperitif.

We started dinner with a selection of appetizers and small bites: Bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with chorizo ($10); cauliflower purée ($9); citrus salmon ($14); mussels in curry coconut milk ($17); and ricotta fritters ($8).

Each of the dishes was delicious, but there were a couple of standouts. The cauliflower purée was beautiful: a creamy dip served in a piping hot cast iron skillet, flavoured with a delicate French-influenced, Indian spicing. Warm and soft, the fritters were also a delight, and perfect dipped in maple syrup that has been smoked in the restaurant’s outdoor smoker. That syrup should really be sold by the bottle.

For an entree, I chose a meat-free version of a squash ravioli usually served with duck confit ($28). Vegetarians will be happy to hear that my dinner was roundly the favourite of the table. There was something about its delicate mix of fresh pasta, lightly scorched brussels sprouts, sage butter and green apples that left everyone raving.

That’s not to say that the other meals weren’t delicious, however. This is modern fusion cuisine very well done, and all the entrees were well-thought-out and flawlessly executed.

The Moroccan lamb chops with eggplant ($32), pork chop with greens and cassoulet ($27), and the Steamboat beef short ribs ($29) all put up a valiant fight for second spot. I was a particular fan of the sausage-stuffed chicken ($26), a tender bird well-accented by a light fennel salad and olive oil potatoes.

We finished the meal with all three desserts on the menu: A dark chocolate terrine ($9); a tangy lemon curd ($9); and a bread pudding ($9). They were all good, but the bread pudding was the kind of dessert you remember later and go back for.

Even in these very early days, Canteen seems to have already hit its stride. The owners’ experience with fine dining at the Red Ox Inn is clearly evident in the quality of the food and the overall experience at Canteen.

The atmosphere is full of nice details, from the napkin rings to the wooden cheque holders, and the food outdoes a lot of other restaurants in the same price range.

From the first sip to the last bite, it appears the Red Ox’s hip little sister is going to be a lot of fun.

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